


Dark Cloud

by Lighteclair13



Category: Dark Cloud (Video Games)
Genre: Basically a whole bunch of oneshots, Dark Cloud - Freeform, Dramatic Re-telling, Gen, Scenes of Dark Cloud
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2018-12-25 23:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12046641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lighteclair13/pseuds/Lighteclair13
Summary: The cave was dark; only the occasional flickering of the spaced out torches that lined the dirty walls lit the dim air.You find a dusty tome, sitting idly on a pillar, the pages rustling with the caress of the wind's breath. It calls to you. You peer over and glimpse looping writing, faded over time but still legible and indescribably beautiful. The light from above you cascades down and catches the glints of the golden writing, and a whisper hums around the room, begging you to delve in the pages and read. This is what you discover.





	1. The Lonesome Journey

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is my first every Ao3 fic! Yay! I have posted these on my Fanfiction account, but I prefer ao3 much better, so I'll be posting them here. I must admit, I wrote these ages ago, and there are most likely to be multiple mistakes, but I will endeavour to both rid this work of those mistakes and to consistently add more chapters to create at least some substantial content. So yes, thanks for reading, and enjoy!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Despite how much I utterly LOVE Dark Cloud, I do not own it. These characters belong to Level-5, and I have just 'borrowed' them for this fic.

I hated being alone. I hated wandering through those tunnels. There was no end to all this dirt that piled up around me. Whoever had put all the torches in here are long dead. Or they were sealed in Atla by the Dark Genie. Their only hope is me, if they're stuck in the Atla, and if they're dead... Well, then they have no hope, I guess.

I trudged along the ground with as much optimism as I could muster, which was practically nonexistent. I felt as if I'd been around this bend about four times, and every wall of this stupid cave seemed to be identical to the next. I could almost feel the energy and hope seeping out of me, but I knew deep down that I couldn't give up, that I had to keep going, because then there would be no hope at all. Terra would crumble, and then fall away into nonexistence, as if it were never there, collapsing into the universe. 

I shuddered at the thought. It almost compelled me forward, so I lifted my dagger slightly higher, and my footsteps were commanded to be a little quieter.  
My eyes started to focus more on the differences in the walls, rather than the similarities, and I eventually found myself walking into a cavernous area that looked completely different from any other that I had seen so far. Stalactites made the roof of the cave look like a wicked monster that beckoned young, adventurous spirits. I was no exception, I guess, except that I did have a good reason for coming here.  
I couldn't see the centre of the room, because of the lack of torches and the limited amount of light that they give off, but I could hear something. Soft thuds that sounded something like heads dropping from a guillotine. I'm sure it's not that though, because as far I as I knew, the use of guillotines were banned way before I was born. 

I clenched the dagger tighter in my grip. My feet tip toed across the loose dirt, cold from having no sunlight, until I could smell something foul. Hot breaths puffed away the dust-filled air a couple of metres away from me, and I could feel my heart rise to my throat.  
My grip on the dagger became sweaty and even tighter as the thuds come closer and closer, making my head throb.

I'd never killed a monster before. I was never allowed to venture into the cave by myself before my... Before. The only thing I had ever killed were mice that scampered around the barn, biting my llama's ears whilst it slept, and even when it was awake. Vermin. The monsters in here are basically the same as the mice and rats that roamed the barn. They were the vermin of the cave, and I had a lot of experience of killing vermin. I had to change my mindset to think thoughts like that more often, rather than constantly thinking about bad things. 

A figure emerged from the dim dust. A wooden club splattered with sharp metal spikes was one of the first things that I noticed, and then the outline of a large bear sort of thing appeared, looking like something that was morphed, eaten, defecated and then used as an experiment.  
My dagger felt lighter in my hand as I pictured it as a small mouse, or rat. I half closed my eyes as I let the dagger jut out into the figure. I shivered when I felt the dagger pierce and rip the flesh, allowing heat to seep out of the wound I had created. Something wet and sticky oozed onto my hand, and I just knew that it was blood, without a doubt.

The creature roared, infuriated by my move, but I knew then that I couldn't have any mercy.  
I lunged forward a again, this time I could see the monster's actions clearer; his club swinging towards me, catching the flickering flame of a torch before I sidestepped it with ease. I've done this before, albeit with littler opponents, but still, I have done this before.  
It's dark eyes snarl at me as it's side oozes garnet-coloured blood onto it's ragged fur. It's breaths caught my face, which made my nose crinkle and my eyes sting. I fought back the tears. Because those weren't the only tears I had cried that day. 

My opponent ran in an arc, as if he was circling me, but he also kept his distance, as if he was taunting me. It was a clever tactic, because I couldn't hit him from where I was, but he had enough power to lunge at me at any moment. I bent my knees for extra steadiness as I followed him with a steady eye.  
As I suspected, he lunged towards me when I least expected it. He had my off guard for a moment, but then I regained my offence, and struck towards his now exposed neck.

The second time I felt skin and flesh break away underneath my weapon was a little less disgusting and soul-wrecking. Heat streamed off the fresh wound which was infinitely deeper than the first, and the creature fell, as if in slow motion, and crashed against the floor in a mixture of sticky blood, fur and mangled limbs. The head snapped back, staring at me with blank, icy eyes. I wiped my dagger against a clean patch of fur, and examined the mess that I had created. The mess that I made with my own weapon, my own hand. It's exactly the same as a rat. It's exactly the same as a rat. It's exactly the same as a rat. I chanted to myself over and over as the sap of the creature poured over its body, a volcano spurting its contents all over the earth.  
I turned my head away in shame. But, even though I was horrified at the thought of it, I couldn't help but think that I'd actually killed something. I'd actually done it. After all my mum's protective words and over-cautiousness, I'd gone into this cave, and I'd killed something. I guess I could stand up for myself. I'm not a little boy.  
I remembered how this thing ran around me in circles. A Dasher, I thought I'd call it. 

"I guess I've killed a Dasher." I said out loud. Smirking, I said it to the corpse, "Well, feel honoured, sir, because there's many more of you to die." I sheathed my dagger and continued to tip toe around the cave. There was a natural archway up ahead that seemed to lead to another tunnel-like space, something new, something that I hadn't seen before. With a new sense of confidence, I tip toed like I'd been doing it for twenty years. 

It seemed awfully still, especially after my almost too-adventurous battle with the Dasher. All remaining adrenaline that could have been left over from the fight was gone, and I was left feeling awfully drained, although I still had the ego boost from the fresh kill. Man I sounded like an axe-murderer or something.  
My hands ran along the sections of dark cave, the areas where the torch light couldn't reach.

A mysteriously cool draft whipped my hair away from my face, stinging my eyes, but it carried a noise on the wind. A high pitched sort of buzzing and a flapping sound. I dreaded what it was, but the noise didn't sound too ominous, so my heart didn't beat too radically.  
The tunnel seemed to be never-ending, one torch after another. More dirt. More stone. It's the same. Except that I could see the slight differences in the stone. I had to see them, notice them, otherwise I'd fall back into the depressive, lonely cycle I was in. That wasn't not good for me. Not at all.  
A gaping mouth appeared ahead. The end of the tunnel. It felt like it had been a lifetime since I first walked into the cavern with the Dasher. I felt so much more experienced, more ready. 

The flapping and buzzing sound became louder and more concentrated as I passed through the mouth of the tunnel into a similar cavern as the Dasher-cavern. A stalagmite and a stalactite had combined together to make one almighty pillar in the middle of the cave. I could see further in this cave, it must have been smaller than the other one. The buzzing sound echoed eerily around the cave, and I spotted it's source, a small bat that seemed just able to fly through the air, let alone fight. But it still headed towards me, eyes red with rage. 

I clasped my dagger once again, and readied my feet for a jump as it got closer, close enough for me to see the leathery bumps on it's deep purple wings and skin. There was set of small, clean fangs that I hadn't noticed before, but they looked like they pulsed with something green. Something that made me think of poison. I didn't want to touch those fangs. 

I waited, ready in my jumping stance as the bat looked like it was about to dive on me. It's fangs caught the torchlight, as everything did in this stupid cave, and I jumped, pressing through the air until I was about eye level with the bat, and swiped at it with my dagger. It's eyes caught sight of the dagger a second too late, and the knife plunged through the bat's middle. It spiralled towards the floor as sprays of it's blood splattered the cave. 

I landed as elegantly as I could, which meant I wobbled and landed in the dirt of the cave. I needed to practice my landings. I needed to practice everything, actually. 

I sat in the dirt for a while, thinking, until something caught my eye. In the corpse of the bat, with its twisted wings, something metal summoned me. 

Crawling forward, I grasped the clean corner that poked out from the muck and guts of the carcass. I pulled it out, and cleaned it reluctantly on the edge of my poncho. I'd have to clean it when I got out of the cave. I'd have to clean everything, anyway, I thought. How would I clean it...? I'd leave that to later. 

The metal thing was small, fitting in the palm of my hand, but it was elegantly crafted and constructed. Different coloured metals twisted into the pattern, which resembled a shield of some sort. A creature roared at my face from the metal at the centre. Dran. Dran's Crest!

I stood up in something that was a mixture of surprise and utter joy. Rumours around Nolun Village told that the only way to go to new areas of the now hostile cave was to find the crest and to slot it into the spot near a doorway. Some doorway. Which doorway? I hadn't seen a door since the door that led to the cave.  
My joy began to fade. I sighed and plodded forward, I had to. Maybe I could find the door, or maybe I could find a hidden treasure or something. In any case, if I stopped moving forward, then I would limit my chances of getting out alive. 

As if it was a routine, I ran my hand along the edge of the cave and I followed it. A yawn escaped my mouth as I entered a dark patch of the cave.  
I felt the cave veer off to the left, and I willingly obeyed, feeling more like a mindless walker every step. Although, at the back of my mind was a thought: the doorway might be around this corner. And as my slow and steady steps rounded the corner, I just knew that this had to be the doorway. 

Sure enough, as the light of a torch came into view, a mark of mankind, a slot that looked like the crest would fit perfectly, was beside a suspicious looking section in the wall. The suspicious section looked like it could slide open and allow people to pass through there. There was something that needed to trigger it to slide, though...  
I glanced down at the thing in my hand, still smeared with a little bat blood. I closed the few steps between me and the slot, and pressed it into place. A click sounded throughout the small space, making it seem louder and scarier than it should have been, and the stone ground and slid until it slotted into the side of the cave. A scary doorway replaced the stone, carved behind the cave wall. There were a few steps that swirled down and out of view, but beyond that, it was as black as a night without stars, and I swear there were many pairs of eyes watching and blinking and disappearing. 

It dawned on me. I had finished this area. I was one step closer to defeating the Dark Genie, a little one, but still a step. 

I passed into the darkness with a new sense of adrenaline.


	2. The Cat, the Cave and the Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lonesome cat crawls through the murky depths of the Divine Beast Cave

The cave was dark; only the occasional flickering of the spaced-out torches that lined the dirty walls lit the dim air. Through the eerie silence that hung in the heavy air, stirrings of monsters echo, ones that would turn any person insane. It was still, so still in all the natural corridors. No one had walked on the dirt floors for a long time; ever since the monsters had been drawn to this place by a mysterious, somewhat evil, force. It seemed that the walls would burst open at any second and something dangerously bloodthirsty would escape from the depths of the darkness. No wonder the citizens of Nolun Village stopped entering the cave. Rumors whispered in the middle of the night told of wild spun tales of Dran, the Cave's guardian, possessed by someone.... Something called the Dark Genie.  
   
Few livings things wander through the tightly wound tunnels, but one of them is a cat; a small petite thing with soft cream fur and chocolate brown markings. She has no owner and trusted no one, not after being stuck in the cave for a few months. Her previous owner, someone who was not nice at all, had chucked her ungraciously into the cave without a second thought after she bit one of the children in the family. It wasn't her fault that it was trying to make her swim laps in the pond in Nolun Village. There were some scary fish in there as well, ones that slid under your furry belly and tickled your toes, taunting you. The only fish the cat liked were ones that were already dead, and she had only had that once from a young lady who saw her sulking around town. Humans called her Paige, but the cat called her 'Fish Lady'.   
   
No humans had come by, or even entered the cave at all. The cat's nose was very sensitive to these things and it had not picked up any humanly scents, only the disgustingly rotten and putrid smell of the monsters. If a monster came by, she would have to hide in a niche or a crevice until she could smell it had gone to the next room or floor.  
   
The next problem was food, there was simply no food that a cat could eat in a cave... Or so she thought, for the first few days. In the end, the pain of not eating was getting to her, and she started to hallucinate-- giant fish leapt out of the walls, and swam through the dirt toward her, only to dart away when she raised her paw to take one of their lives. Nevertheless, she kept putting one paw in front of the other, and after hours of avoiding monsters, she came across something. A patch of water. Sure, she was thirsty as well, but the pain of starvation had long overtaken the thirst in her mouth. Carefully, her paws led her to the surface of the water; it was smooth, and smelled sweet. She dipped her tongue into the water, and she had a sudden feeling of enlightenment, her stomach no longer grumbled and also her tongue did not hand like a dry burden in her mouth. Finally! Something she could eat! Well... Technically drink, but it did both.  
   
A few months after this discovery, she became aware of a human presence in the cave. Somedays, it came in and then left rather quickly, others it stayed and worked through heaps of floors all at once. She was curious, and that's what led her to the floor below the one she had sensed the most recent presence. If it was a human, maybe it wanted a pet, and she was perfect for the job!  
The air stilled and she could tell the human was about to enter. Pacing the ground in front of the cave, she acted as normal and in-place as she could. The cave entrance made a horrible scraping sound, and it slowly opened. Slowly, and as if rehearsed, the cat turned her head and saw a human for the first time in many months. He seemed young, shorter than her owner who was supposed to be an 'adult', and he wore a funny green hat thing, big gloves and boots as well as a orange poncho and some black pants that looked a little tight. This was all she caught with the smallest of glances, and then fear rushed through her and without even thinking it over, she run away as fast as she could. After she had recovered from all her puffing and panting, avoiding monsters, and running as fast as she could, she regained her senses and cursed herself. She was so close to finding a new human.  
   
This time she would stay for sure. That's what she told herself, and she waited exactly as she did last time; the floor below where the presence was last, pacing the floor impatiently and with anxiety. Suddenly, she sensed the same presence outside the cave door once again, and the cave opened painfully slowly. The person was there again, and now she had another opportunity to glance at him, she saw the surprised expression on his face, soft and gentle. But she also saw something that boosted her adrenaline again. A sword. This person was carrying a sword. She ran, but stopped herself for a second. What if he...? The sword greeted her eyes again, and she didn't stop herself from running.  
   
A sword, is it to fight the monsters? He must be trying to kill them all... Maybe. Oh! Why are humans so cruel! She pondered as she replenished her thirst and hunger in the magical pool that seemed to be on most of the floors.  
Wandering around the many dark and musty corridors seemed to be a habit now, and it comforted her. She could think over things better, and all her attention was focused on this mysterious character. She rounded the corner thinking intensely to herself, and she could not even sense the monster that was coming towards her.  
I bet he's nice... What was that gem on his glove? She felt a sharp pain to her forehead and she collapsed on the ground, see the club of a dasher just as her vision faded to black.  
   
She was so dizzy, and the blackness seemed to overwhelm her very thoughts and movements. Forcing her eyes to open, she began to feel stronger. When she could see normally, she sat up and regained her composure. Blinking multiple times, she sensed something familiar, but something she couldn't put her paw on. In her daze, she sniffed multiple times and then it hit her. The human! He was here! Instantly, all the fog lifted and her thoughts could move about clearly. She ran as fast as she possibly could. The presence was strong in the level below.  
Down the stairs, and through a corridor, then there! There he was. And another human who looked scary was fighting with him! She walked over hesitantly, and the evil looking human saw her and pointed his sword at her. The sword. No!  
Clenching her eyes shut, she waited for the blow. Nothing. She peeped her eyes open and saw a ball of magical power- so evil- and it was aimed at her.  
   'Mew!' She yelled. A shadow seeped onto her eyelids. 'Mew...?'  
The human she had been well... Stalking, was protecting her. The magic beamed flew onto his sword, which deflected it easily. An evil laugh that filled the air.  
   'Weak.'  
   '...'  
   'Oh? A cat? I see... Well. In that case, here.' He threw something.  
The good human caught it with ease, and he looked down and smiled at her.  
   'I’ll see you again.' Said the evil human.  
And that was that.


	3. The Stranger at the Colosseum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic is a forgotten art of the Moon People, but what happens when it appears once more in the Colosseum?

The smell of roasted berries and other Moon Fruits rose and dipped with the roaring of the crowd. Hundreds of Moon People gathered and threw their hands up in excitement, buzzing with energy and the sweet sugar of the berries. The shadowy cloaks weave around each other as everyone moves, jumping and shouting and fist-pumping the air. The stars float above their heads, a weaved tapestry, embroidered with the glittering jewels.

Osmond held a stone cup with his two cloaked hands, observing carefully.

   "This challenger doesn't stand a chance against Minotaur Joe..." Tomahon said, sitting next to Osmond on the rows of expertly carved stone steps that served as the stands.

The powerful, muscly arm of Minotaur Joe came down upon his opponent; a young and foolish Moon Person who believed he had found a way to destroy him.

The Moon Person rolled across the paved pit, dodging the fatal blow of the sharp axe as it smashed pieces of stone into the grandstands. Coils of sparkling red shone and glittered out of the Moon Person's hands, only to fall a couple of metres short, sizzling and twisting painfully on the ground. Although it was a failure for the Moon Person, the rest of the stands became still. The cheering and the excitement fell away, leaving a stunned silence that was so unnerving.

Osmond froze. The bright outline of the red coils flashed vividly behind his eyes.

   "Magic." Osmond whispered.

   "Magic...!?" Tomahon replied, shocked. "But we have no memory of how to use magic. He must be an illusionist!"

   "I know magic when I see it."

A bright flash of cold, aqua light came from the arena. Shards of sharp, glowing ice splattered the stones, crawling up one side of the stand, and decorating the far end of the arena. Sparkles of what look like cold fairy dust shimmer from the Moon Person's hands.

Tomahon gulped. "Magic." He almost choked.

   "Come on." Osmond grabbed Tomahon's hand and sprinted through the baffled crowd, who still watched intently as another burst of lemon yellow flashed and disappeared almost at once. A rumbling sound followed almost immediately after, and Tomahon feared that it would shake the stands to pieces. A couple of seconds later, a massive smashing noise resonated through the Colosseum.

   "Minotaur Joe doesn't seem to like this challenger's tricks." Shivered a voice.

Osmond glanced back, only to see the flapping hat of Boon.

   "Boon!" Exclaimed Tomahon. "What are you doing?"

Boon hesitated for a moment, replying quietly, "Running away."

   "Oh, grab a hold, Boon. Don't let go, either." Osmond called, and took off again, swerving through the many Moon People with Tomahon and Boon in tow.

At the bottom of the stands, Osmond sprinted through a stone archway, sharply turning to go around the stairs that led to the lower levels and exit of the Colosseum. He could hear someone panting and heaving, most likely Boon, taking in heavy breaths that couldn't keep up with their pace.

   "Wh-where are we g-going?" Boon asked through his laboured breaths.

   "To somewhere you're never allowed to go again, Boon." Osmond replied, taking another stone archway that led into darkness. Tomahon felt Boon's hand squeeze tighter as the darkness enclosed them.

Boon hated darkness. He hated a lot of things, such as heights, the Moon Sea, magic... Minotaur Joe... But he hated the darkness the most, hated what the dark brought. His sleep was always ravaged by haunting nightmares of terrifying abominations. Wolverines. Bats. Barrels with pumpkins for heads. Giant stone and metal golems. He closed his eyes and just held on to Tomahon even tighter.

The darkness passed quickly, and soon streams of light shone from around a corner. Osmond guided them into the light as if he had done this multiple times already. Tomahon suspected that he had most definitely come down here more than once.

As their eyes adjusted to the light, a small, boxy room came into focus. Numerous switches and complicated looking contraptions completely covered one wall. The other two were plain stone, like most of the Colosseum. The ceiling was high, way higher than any other in the Colosseum, and three slots were cut out of the stone, allowing the streams of light to fill up the room. Piles of hay lined the floor, a rather large and excessive amount of it, really, for a room below the Colosseum.

Boon's mouth fell agape. "I-I... Woah."

   "Boon, don't touch anything."

Osmond walked purposefully up to a large, orange-coloured switchboard. He studied it for a moment or two, then flicked two switches down and one up. The sound of the clicks shuddered around the room. Nothing seemed to happened.

   "Osmond, you touched something..." Boon said in disbelief.

   "Yes. I'm allowed to, not you, Boon." Osmond stood, looking at the stone slots high above them. They flashed dark occasionally, the light disappearing in flashes, and then it was back. Sometimes it would be dark for a couple of seconds, but then the light returned almost instantly after a large black shaped thing stepped off the slots.

"Hmmmm."

He suddenly bustled with energy and excitement. "Okokokokok." He clapped his hands through the cloth of the cloak. "I have a plan."

Tomahon, who was studying the switches that lined the wall, turned to Osmond. "Let's get to it, then." Osmond smiled at this. Yes, of course studious and smart Tomahon knew of his plans. He really is a true genius.

   "Wait, a plan for what?!" Boon said, suddenly scared. The plans that Osmond made were usually dangerous and adventurous.

Tomahon turned to Boon as Osmond returned to the switchboard, his attention now fully on a rather large red button, made out of stone. "Boon. I know you mean good, but try not to touch anything, and keep away from the middle of the haystacks." Tomahon then ran across the haystacks, puffs of straw dust floating into the room as he did so, to Osmond, talking to him as they slowly decided which switches to flip.

Boon sighed. He could do something. He wasn't entirely stupid, he didn't think so, at least.

There was a flickering again, and he looked towards the slots above. A figure about the same size as them was balanced on the strips of cold stone. Light-coloured splashes of water shot from it's fingertips, followed by a low, annoyed moan from Minotaur Joe. The figure nimbly jumped across the slots, and Boon heard the whistling of air, followed by Minotaur Joe's glinting axe, which he could just make out through the slots.

   "Woah...!"  He whispered, stepping forward though the scratchy strands of hay that tickled the frayed edges of his cloak.

Osmond and Tomahon were oblivious to Boon's movements. He stepped forward as if in a trance, watching the figure almost dance across the slots high above, different coloured lights splashing from it's hands like a brilliant, flashing kaleidoscope.

   "Ok I think we're all set for this switchboard, how's yours going, Tomhaon?" Osmond asked, whilst flicking the last bright purple coloured switches up and down.

   "We're ready. I've finished that last ancient-looking switchboard over there before this one. All we need to do now is time it perfectly and then hit... BOON!" Tomahon screeched the last word, seeing Boon in his almost drunken daze lean forward on the ruby-coloured stone button, that clicked perfectly into the stone wall behind the switchboards. At the sound of it clicking into place, Boon jumped and then realised that he had done something bad yet again, and Osmond turned and saw the stone slats opening, enveloping the figure, whose cloaked hands were still outstretched, conjuring water streams.

   "Yes, Boon!" Osmond shouted excitedly, pushing past his two confused companions as the figure landed softly in a large pile of hay.

   "Oomph. Did I win?" It says, breathless. It's almost jumpy, even though it's still practically recovering from the fall.

   "Er... Yes. And we're giving you your prize soon, but just tell us how you used that magic." Osmond says, leaning forward and trying to intimidate the magic-wielder, but he doesn't seem to be fazed at all.

   "Ah... Yes the magic..." It trails off.

   "Don't sound so surprised, you came into this competition knowing that you would use magic, that magic was forgotten, and that this would happen. So come on and give us your well-rehearsed answer." Tomhaon says, joining Osmond, and standing in much the same offensive position.

Boon felt left out. He copied the others' positions and says "yeah."

   "Ok, ok..." The stranger sighed. "I…"

   "Yes...?" They said, except for Boon who said it a couple of seconds later.

He tips his head down in what they can only assume is shame. "I didn't mean to... I am ashamed to admit..." He sighs again and Osmond twitches his cloak in annoyance.

"...I craved it. Power, I mean. Magic." He tilts his hood up to look at them, and they all stand still. Even Boon knew that this was a serious moment.

   "I hated that we had forgotten it. How could we forget that power? I had been thinking these thoughts for quite a while, and then one day and old man approached me. He was human, but I felt some thing more that coursed through his veins. He said that he had helped others in the past, that they had also achieved this power that I dreamed of. He said it was simple. That I would be what I wanted to be, even defeating Minotaur Joe. I wanted that. Ever since I was young, I knew that my destiny was to kill Minotaur Joe. But how could I ever without a power? I never even knew where the old man had come from, or what he was doing, but he promised things that I had always wanted. It was like he had read my mind. Telling everyone that I would be praised an honoured by everyone if I could beat Minotaur Joe with the power." He breathed out, almost as if he was exhausted by his sudden outburst of speech.

There was a silence that enveloped them as they stood, sat in it. The magic-wielded had spoken about the greed of everyone's hearts. About their own secret desires that no one dared talk about.

   "So, then, how did you gain this power, this magic?" Osmond says finally, breaking the silence.

The magic-wielded laughs, a quiet and almost an ashamed laugh mixed together. "It was so simple, as he had said. He carried this vial of crimson coloured liquid, and he showed it to me. He said that if I mixed my blood with that of the vial. He said it was witches blood." He stretches out his cloaked hands and looks down at them. He forms a tiny snowflake in the palm of each hand, both of them different from each other and twirling around at the same. The pale blue illuminates their faces underneath the hoods. The furs, and patterns, scattered all across their faces.

    "So I agreed to let the witch blood coarse through my veins." His chocolate brown eyes shudder, as if recalling a memory. "But then, as he was saying goodbye, and I was experimenting with the new power, he calls to me."

   "What does he say?" Boon asks, everyone's leaning in, intrigued.

   "He said that witch blood isn't compatible with Moon People's blood. He said that I would not live to see two Minotaur Joe tournaments." He chuckles. "He smiled as he said good luck with that power."


	4. The Competitions of the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The growing party encounter a dilemma when they are faced with the back floor of the Wise Owl Forest.

You go in first.  
   
Toan thought those words, mostly thinking about Goro, that selfish pig. The forest's vines swayed slightly in the breeze, it smelled sweet and sticky, humid even. The small pond beneath him and his two companions, the cat girl and the selfish lump of flesh, flowed with a small rhythm, the waves lapping at it's wooden container that had been there for who knew how long.

The leaf boat looked unstable, and everyone sensed it.

Toan had only been into a small handful of Back areas, but that was in the caves back in Nolun Village. The first time was an utter disaster, and he had had to take a week to rest up and heal his injuries and weapons. Too much time was wasted.  
   
The forest so far, even with his two allies, had proven to be quite difficult. A Back section of the forest when they were so inexperienced with the forest? It would be... Nonsense. But who knows? They could try it out and get mortally wounded- Or they could sneak around and hide from all the forest beasts and look for the Atla and the hidden treasures. Toan remembered the tragic Back area in the Divine Beast Cave; the monsters were particularly ferocious and took an extra sword swing to bring about their end, but all the treasure he had found in the little nooks and crannies of the cave were beyond extraordinary. There were a couple of magical gems, items that previous cave adventurers must have left behind, or were left when they were killed, and plenty of attachments that he had never seen before. It could be useful to go to the Back forest... But of course there would also be that risk of getting stranded, the monsters too strong for them to handle... But they'd have the Fairy King. Though, Than thought, the Dark Genie was getting stronger all the time, and if they needed a week to recover, or more, then the more formidable the Genie would become. The Dark Genie had already ensued a large amount of damage. The most recent example of the Genie's influence made Toan shiver. He remembered Dran's red eyes, ready to kill, looming in the darkness of the musty cave, the hollow growls echoing around the rotting chamber. If the Dark Genie only possessed him, well what would his true self be? Stronger? Of course... And getting more so.  
   
   "So, you first, Toan?" Xiao asked. So naive, that girl.

Goro made some incoherent mumbling in either agreement or argument. Toan couldn't tell and really did not care about him at the moment, the more he payed attention to him, the more annoyed and agitated he got.

   "Xiao, we can't just go storming in there..." Toan sighed, not knowing how to break this to a cat girl.

   "Why not!?" She complained, "Divine Beast Cave was a piece of cake!" Oh. That's right. Toan's first expedition to the Back section of the cave was alone. He had had to battle some of the monsters that were in the main area of the cave, the ones that didn't lure adventurers to their deaths, so that he could understand how they moved. How they attacked. Their weaknesses. When he did that, they were easier, but the monsters lurking in the Back of the cave had had more time to develop methods for killing their prey, and manipulating them.

   "Well..." His brain swam for ideas.

   "We'll get seriously injured," Goro added, and for once Toan had acknowledged his existence and was slightly pleased.

   "Pretty much... Look, you weren't there, but in Divine Beast Cave, the first time I went to the Back, I had to take a week off from fighting and rest up. The only way I got out was by calling on the Fairy King, just as a monster was taking a swing at me," Toan explained, shuffling his feet, still deciding wether or not to go in the back. Treasure was tempting his mind.

   "Oh..." Xiao scratched her head, her overly fluffy ears bouncing a tad, "But we have more people. We also found Goro that new hammer, and it seems to have a pretty good effect on the monsters," she thought a little longer, "and I bought plenty of fresh bread from Wise Owl, so we should be able to recover pretty well." Her eyes sparkled. This was new to her, a forest Back area. It was new to everyone, but Toan took it more seriously than an adventure, and Goro just looked depressed like always.

A glimpse of light flashed on the water's surface, shining through the leaf and making a light display that lit up all their faces. The group was silent a little longer.

   "We should go." Toan decided abruptly, and hopped on the leafboat before his mind thought otherwise and begged to get off.

   "Yippeeee!" Exclaimed Xiao as she bounced on board, making it rock slightly. The ripples filled the not-so-smooth water's surface.

Goro looked doubtful, positive the boat would not hold his weight, but nonetheless, he dipped a toe gently into the base of the giant leafboat. Satisfied that he had not made a hole in the leaf's delicate surface when his toe prodded it, he jumped on.

And just like that, by some unimaginable and mysterious force that seemed to be accompanying them along their whole journey, the boat kept afloat and they drifted down the river, towards the darkness.  
   
After the boat went through the wooden entrance, everything became thirty shades darker and the forest thickened around them, impenetrable by pretty much everything except a few rays of light. Xiao exclaimed in delight as streams of flowers or/and lights climbed and danced on the forest walls beside them, scattering and reforming here and there.

   I shouldn't have gone. The Genie's getting stronger everyday, and this would be such a risk..

Toan's thoughts ran a mile before he realised there was a light at the end of the tunnel. How sweet.  
His companions were too busy looking at their almost magical surroundings to have noticed yet. Toan smirked as he saw a faint smile on Goro's mouth as he looked at the flowers in awe. How pathetic.

   "Guys," Toan whispered, tapping Xiao on her shoulder. Not risking a punch in the face from Goro, Toan made sure his hand went nowhere near his shoulder. "Stay quiet, and remember, we want to just check it out first. We'll see how many monsters are in the first section of the cave. If there's not many, then go for it, take them out as quickly as you can. We should have the element of surprise with us." He quickly planned.

   "Yes, Oh Master, anything else your Worshipfulness...?" Grumbled Goro. Toan felt the urge to slap him, but jerked his hand back. He didn't want to start a serious fight or anything.

   "I'll take out those dwarf things, if there are any," Xiao announced, as she had taken a liking to killing the annoying things that had poisoned her and robbed her of her money on numerous occasions.

   "Yep, that's fine with me," said Toan. He left the long-range work to Xiao, whose aim with a slingshot was perfect beyond comprehension... maybe it was her cat-like abilities.

The waves splashed slightly as the small group made their way to the light at the end of the tunnel, signalling the exit and end to the trip to the Back. What lay beyond the light was most likely danger, and it wouldn't be as easy as the forest had been so far. The leafboat broke the light, and it faded behind them. They held their breath, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice from Toan, who was quickly observing their surroundings. No monsters were in their immediate surroundings, but they could hear noises likes groans and hisses and the drops of collected moisture.  
   
Toan jumped out of the boat, carefully tied it up to a jutting rock and signalled for Goro and Xiao to follow him. Xiao jumped out, her feet knowing exactly where to go, slingshot ready and her ears twitching and reacting to the eerie sounds that couldn't be only from the swaying of the trees that were as thick as the black of a starless night.  
Goro ventured into the low mist that seemed to fall on all of the Back areas. Toan had trusted him scout without alerting the monsters because he did, in fact grow up here. He did tell Toan the other day that he had explored the whole forest for numerous years.

   "I can't even hear him," Xiao whispered in Toan's ear.

A couple of minutes passed,  Toan and Xiao's hearts were beating like crazy, hoping that Goro wouldn't snap a twig and get eaten. Well, Toan wouldn't mind it. But, Goro's oversized hammer appeared through the mist, followed by Goro himself, his face twisted in concentration, which made him look like he was eating something that required a lot of chewing.

   "There are a few wolverines in the far corner, you can take care of those," he nods towards Toan, "and there are a few wasps hovering in the corner on the right, and they to me, ok?" Toan sighed, but let him get away with it. "And Xiao, ther is a dwarf about ten metres from here, down that direction." He points. "And... About twenty metres to the left of that is a Halloween."

Xiao slowly let out a breath. "That should be ok... I'll yell out if I need some help with that Halloween."

Toan shakes his hands out, hoping that that will keep his nerves at bay, but it doesn't do much. "Ok, so we need to split up. Yell out if you need help, like Xiao. If it's too much and they come around through the opening, then head back to the boat and yell something crazy so we know the difference. Good luck."  
They all nod at Toan, even Goro, who seemed uncharacteristically agreeable.  
   
Mist wipes Toan's eyes. As he moves closer to the centre of the clearing, the mist becomes thicker and harder to see through. The noises become louder, claws scraping at the base of the thick trunks, vines rustling as something rubs along it, making the tree tops shiver. Toan's eyes dart around his surroundings, warily listening to the movements the forest weaved around him. The edges of the trees appeared a couple of metres in front of him, as well as the outline of a wolverine, and another behind it. He pressed on, avoiding the horror movie twigs, that would snap instantly if he stepped on them. He held his sword tightly in his right hand, he could see his knuckles becoming white, but that didn't bother him at the moment. He raised his sword, about to swing it down to cut and kill, when the wolverine turned around suddenly, it's eyes dark and empty, like most of the monsters, and strands of glistening saliva catching the mist. Toan swore under his breath as a massive, fur-covered arm with nearly sharpened claws came at him from the side. He jumped out the way and sliced at the wolverine's chest whilst it's momentum was controlling it.

The wolverine yelped, but was infuriated by this move, taking another quick swing at Toan's now exposed side. Out of the corner of his eye, Toan saw this move and jumped out of the way in the nick of time. He saw an opportunity at it's neck, and reached out and cut with his sword. The wolverine fell to a heap dramatically, exhaling sharply, as if all the air in it's lungs were begging to escape. Toan barely caught two breaths when it's companion came running, jumping over the dead wolverine's body and swing it's overly long and clawed arms at his. He raised his sword, and shuddered at the noise made by the sound of his sword piercing the flesh. The wind created by the creature's speed whipped past him as he slid his sword down its stomach. There was that breathy exhale again, and he knew it was over. Sheesh, that was quicker than I expected, and easier, too.

He let out a breath, not unlike the death-breath of the wolverines, and pulled out his sword. Whilst he recovered on a fallen over stump, rotting away, he listened intently for the sounds of his companions. There was a a series of thuds that were to his right, a flop, then another louder thud. To his far left, he could hear much louder and forceful thumps that could only be Goro's hammer utterly destroying the wasps. Xiao's breaths could be heard, and her footsteps falling into the dirt. Toan smiled when he heard her yell out, "take that!" The sounds of stones breaking apart wood, and something softer, like a pumpkin, reached him through the thick cloud of mist.  
   
Toan's breaths were evening out as the last sounds of fighting faded away, replaced by sounds of rejoicing from Xiao.

   "Wahooowahowowowoo!" She yelped, and Toan glimpsed her dancing around the clearing a couple of times whilst she sang her happy song. Something about fish...  
He picked up his sword and walked to the middle of the clearing.

   "Xiao! Goro!" He called.

Xiao immediately sprung out of the hazy mist. "I think that was pretty successful, don't you think?" She purred, rubbing her shoulder against Toan's. Once a cat, always a cat, he thought.

   "Yeah, well it was definitely easier than Divine Beast Cave.' He awkwardly patted her head.

   "I don't think we even have to decide whether to move on or not," Goro said, looking at them both with a smile on his face. "To be perfectly honest I actually never went into that section of the forest. It's too dangerous. My... I was told never to go in there."

   "What?!" Xiao said, jumping higher than any human ever could.

   "Well, I guess it was more of a test. If you passed I'd join you. I'd even get into a better mood."

   "Didn't you already join us?" Toan said skeptically, but fell silent when Xiao shot him a look.

   "Don't listen to that. Did we pass?" She asked, almost too eager to hear.

Goro loved the tension. "Well, depends on who can kill the most wolverines!" He laughed, surprising them both, and ran through to the next clearing, past the twisting trees. Xiao and Toan stood there confusedly for a while as they watched his darting figure move surprisingly swiftly amongst the foliage.

   "Well, I think that means we passed." Xiao said, scratching her head in frustration, because she knew that she couldn't kill wolverines all that easily.

   "Nah, he seriously means it. Come on!' He ran after Goro tugging along Xiao and drawing his sword once more.

   "Oh, you two and your competitions!" She laughed, but Toan could hear her draw her slingshot and he smiled. Maybe Goro was OK.


End file.
